Republic of Germany

Germany was greatly harmed by the peace treaty in Versailles. It lost 1/7 of an economically important territory, numerous Germans became minorities in newly created neighboring countries, its transoceanic colonies were taken, and its army was reduced while its navy was taken. Furthermore French and Belgian troops soon after occupied Ruhr, the heart of Germany’s mining, industry and trade, in order to ensure that war reparations were paid in kind such as coal.

During this entire period, the socio-political situation was mostly unstable. Hard life was exacerbated by huge war reparation imposed by the Paris peace treaties after the war and Allied bankers who then “found solutions” for payments (in the form of short-term loans) that led to even greater debt. Inflation deprived the middle class of all savings and made industrial magnates absolute dictators of Germany’s economic life. The Germans themselves did not feel defeated in the war (after all, Germany was not conquered) and felt even less like they earned this defeat. Persistent opponents of the Weimar Republic convinced themselves that republicans, having removed the Kaiser and surrendered to the Entente, were responsible for the defeat of Germany and the difficult peace treaty.

The conditions in Germany were made worse with the start of the Great Depression in 1929. There was danger of a social revolution of the working class and streets became literally unsafe due to conflicts between paramilitary groups. Masses of disappointed, disoriented and disgruntled citizens had no idea who to be loyal to. In these conditions, the Nazis rose, led by Adolf Hitler who would become chancellor in 1933. A year later, after the referendum where more than 90% voters voted for it, the functions of chancellor and president were unified – Hitler became Führer.